Our Lady of Guadalupe first appeared to Juan Diego, an Aztec convert to Catholicism, on December 9th and 12th of 1531 at Tepeyac Hill Mexico. During that first apparition Our Lady requested that a shrine be built on the site. The Archbishop, however, refused to approve construction unless she gave him a sign.
The Blessed Mother then appeared a second time to Juan Diego, asking him to gather flowers from the summit of Tepeyac Hill, which was normally barren, especially in the cold of December. Juan Diego obeyed her instruction and he found Castilian roses, not native to Mexico, blooming there.
The Virgin arranged the flowers in Juan Diego’s tilma, or cloak, and when Juan Diego opened his cloak later that day before Archbishop Zumárraga, the flowers fell to the floor, revealing the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe imprinted on the fabric This is the same image that is now venerated in the Basilica of Guadalupe (below). The cloak and image have never deteriorated or faded.
Following the apparitions the people of Mexico converted to the Catholic faith by the thousands.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!
